


Ten Days In A Cabin

by fighttoshine



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Cabin Fic, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Mention of Grief/Mourning, Minor Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 00:02:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29741934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fighttoshine/pseuds/fighttoshine
Summary: Julie wants to spend some quality time with her cousin, and fall in love with music again.Luke wants to finish writing a killer debut album for his band, Sunset Curve.But will ten days in a cabin - with their various friends and family around them - be enough for both Julie and Luke to achieve their goals?
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Ten Days In A Cabin

**Author's Note:**

> Hello world! <3
> 
> I have posted fanfic before under a previous username but this is my first multichapter fic ever so I'm a little nervous. Please be kind!
> 
> Planning and me are not good friends as I work better when I freestyle things. However that means updates will not happen regularly, and the plot could go anywhere, so you have been warned!
> 
> (15 chapters is currently a rough guess at how much I want to write, and may change depending on how the plot progresses.)
> 
> Hope you all enjoy :)

The evening sun radiates warmth and beauty across the landscape, setting the trees ablaze and shimmering on the gentle ripples of the lake, as insects buzz around and disturb the still surface of the water. Up a small slope from the jetty and parked cars sits a traditional log cabin with a glass front, to give uninterrupted views of the surroundings, and Julie smiles at her home for the next ten days. Surrounded by the natural world and other musicians and her best friend, Julie knows she’s going to get inspired to fall in love with music again, and she hugs Flynn tightly when she comes around from the other side of the truck. This trip will be perfect, Julie already knows, and nothing can ruin it for her.

“Hey, Molina. You get lost or something?”

Luke’s leaning against the boys’ SUV, arms folded across his bare chest as he smirks at her, and Julie sighs heavily.

Well, maybe one thing could ruin the trip.

“Ignore him,” Bobby says, slapping Luke around the head as he comes past to help the girls unload their bags. “Someone’s in a bad mood because he had to sit with Alex in the back for the last hour, and Alex was pining for Willie.”

“I was not pining!” Alex yells from the doors, but then runs down the slope and almost knocks Willie to the ground with the force of his hug. “I was just thinking about how much I wanted to hold you, babe,” He says softly, stroking Willie’s hair. “Six hours is a long time to be apart, isn’t it?”

Willie catches Julie’s eye and moves his head, pressing his smile into Alex’s shoulder as he nods in agreement. “Far too long to be away from you. Please can we ride together on the way back?”

A chorus of four voices cry out “No!” in unison. They all know from experience that the couple wouldn’t be able to keep their hands off each other for long, and none of them want that kind of distraction while they’re driving.

It’s the reason why they travelled up separately in the first place.

“So Reggie’s in the kitchen, cooking us dinner, and we’re gonna help get everything up to the cabin, and tonight we’re probably just gonna eat and chill?” Bobby tells them, heading to the rear of the vehicle to get it open. “Is that cool with you two?”

Julie nods at Flynn, who turns to Bobby and says, “Sure!”

“These two are Willie’s - William, put Alex down for five minutes and get your stuff!” Julie calls, and the two of them sheepishly come over, each taking one of Willie’s bags so they can link their free hands together by their pinkies. “If you can grab those two, Bobby - yeah, that’s what we need tonight, and we can unpack the rest tomorrow. It’s just some extra food and my keyboard and our hiking gear, so it won’t hurt in the truck.”

“Is there anything I can carry for you lovely ladies?” Luke’s come over and he gives Julie a charming grin as Flynn gets her backpack from the front seat. “Can’t let all this muscle go to waste,” He adds, lifting his arms to show off his biceps.

“No, that’s true,” Julie tells him sweetly, even as Bobby and Flynn make noises of disapproval. She beckons him over to the side of the truck, and takes out the lightweight tote she brought to carry her personal items, holding up so everyone can see. “There we go, Luke. That’s about right, given how strong you are.”

They all collapse with laughter, Flynn leaning on the truck and Willie and Alex holding onto each other to keep them from falling to the floor. Julie keeps the smile on her face as Luke stares her down, something complicated mixed in with his frustration and indignity, and eventually he snatches the bag from her hands. “Well if the princess is so weak she can’t even carry that herself, I guess I’d better do it for her. We couldn’t have you breaking one of those perfect nails, could we, your highness?”

Julie scowls. It’s a low blow, because Julie’s fought to be strong and independent and capable, and she hates the way Luke can hurt her so much by implying she’s not. And yes, okay - she likes to look good and have her nails long and paint them. But that’s not a crime, and being pretty and girly doesn’t stop her from also being fiery and passionate and just as interesting and valuable as a man.

“Uh, guys? I think I did something wrong with the soup. There’s black bits in it now?”

Reggie’s stood by the doors, wringing his hands together, and Julie feels all the anger drain out of her. A big part of the trip is getting to hang out with her cousin again, having not seen him much since she went to college in New York, and she’s not going to let his annoying best friend ruin that for her.

“Take it off the heat - we’re coming up now!” Alex calls, pulling Willie along by his pinky as he heads back to the cabin. “It could just be the pan - it looked like an old one, so maybe it wasn’t cleaned out properly...”

Flynn follows them up and Bobby walks with her, introducing himself and explaining his connections with the others, which leaves Julie with Luke. “Look I-”

“Let’s just get this straight, Molina.” Luke puts the straps of her bag over his shoulder, so he can fold his arms across his chest as he glares at her. “We’re both here because Reggie wants us to be. And sure, we need to work on new music for the band, and maybe you can help with that. Maybe we can help you write some new songs too. But that doesn’t mean we have to be friends, or even like each other. So save the sweetheart act for when we’re hanging out with the others, and just leave me alone when we’re not.”

Julie frowns at him. She was about to apologise, to explain it was a misunderstanding, and offer to not tease him again if he really didn’t like it - as long as he would also stop being mean to her. But his words come from a dark place, filled with a lot of pain and anger, and Julie knows from experience that he’s not ready to hear it yet. So outwardly, she gives him a small smile and a nod, to confirm she’s understood. “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

“Good. You gonna come up then?”

“In a minute,” She tells him, glancing over to the jetty. “I want to sit by the water for a bit first.”

Luke wanders off, grumbling under his breath, and Julie watches him go. Once he’s inside the house, she slips off her shoes and walks down the wooden structure, taking a seat at the end so she can dip her feet in the cool lake.

Now, looking back over her interactions with Luke, Julie can see they follow a pattern. Luke acts all charming and confident around her - even more so than he usually does around girls - which annoys Julie, because she’s seen the real Luke around Reggie and the others, and she likes him a lot more. But once Julie’s annoyed with him, her first instinct is to tease Luke, and no matter how gentle she is, he’s always offended by it and lashes out. Every time Julie gets hurt by his attack, because Luke somehow knows all her weaknesses and uses them against her, which then makes it harder to be kind and generous and sympathetic the next time he flirts with her.

“Hey, Julie?”

Reggie’s voice appears out of nowhere, and Julie shakes her head to drag herself back to reality. “Yeah?”

There’s just enough space for Reggie when he sits down next to her, shivering when his own feet enter the water. “So what do you think of this?” Reggie asks, and swings his hand around, gesturing to the cabin and the woods beyond it as well as the lake. “Kind of nice after weeks in the middle of NYC, right?”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful. Well, the outside is - I haven’t been in the cabin yet.” Julie tries to stop herself there, but can’t resist adding, “Just a shame about the company.”

Reggie pulls his legs up and wraps his arms around them. “Is he really that bad to be around?”

Julie doesn’t ask who he meant, in the same way Reggie didn’t ask her what the problem was with their company for the trip. “Maybe? Although I think we both play our part in the problems.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I just hoped that being out here, away from all our family and my old teachers and the pressure, I could start playing or singing again. But I don’t know if I can do that with Luke around, watching my every move and commenting all the time, like he knows best.”

“Oh Jules.” Reggie slips his arm around her waist and rests his head on her shoulder. “Has it really been three years since you last made any kind of music?”

“Recently I’ve been listening to some when I do my homework?” Julie says, wondering if that counts, but Reggie’s groan tells her it doesn’t. “But yeah, three years since I touched a keyboard, and uh. Three years since I sang in public. Or for other people, I mean.”

“Soup’s getting cold!” Alex yells from the wide open doors, and Reggie gives him a thumbs up.

“We should go eat with the others.” Julie pats Reggie’s leg and stands before he can argue with her. There’s nothing else to say about her not performing, and she doesn’t want to sit around and wallow in that pain any more. It’s why she chose Psychology to study at college, and why she doesn’t go back to LA much, just for a week each summer and family events. “Come on! Willie couldn’t stop talking about Alex on the way up, and I wanna see if Alex is just as obsessed with Willie!”

Reggie laughs and gets up, the two of them grabbing their shoes as they walk barefoot up to the cabin. “I should warn you, we’ll be sat near Luke for dinner - everyone’s already claimed their places.” He shoots her a look, and Julie laughs, pretty sure she already knows what that means. “And he spent most of the journey talking about songs he wants to work on, so I bet he’ll be the same through dinner.”

“That sounds like Luke.”

“No, it’s not just normal Luke. This is super obsessed Luke.” Reggie stops them, several feet from the door, and scratches the back of his neck. “I didn’t even realise ‘til we got on the highway, but he’s come with ten songs he’s started work on, and a whole book of ideas. He wants us to have six to eight new ones finished by the time we leave, so we’re ready to record our first album when we go back to LA.” He sneaks a look backwards, at their friends gathered around the dining table, all laughing and chatting away. “That’s why I came out to see you - you deserve to know what you’re getting into here. Because if you’re still avoiding music, I just want to be sure, Jules. Are you ready for this? Are you ready to hear us discuss our songs, and work on them in the cabin, and maybe get asked to join in and help us?”

Julie leans to the side, so she can watch the others for a moment. Willie’s asked something about a song, and in the middle of eating, Alex has started beating out the rhythm on the table, and Luke’s humming along, adding in a tune. Bobby and Flynn nod along, enthralled by the two of them, then with permission from Luke Flynn starts rapping, freestyling away like she’s in charge, and Willie cheers then gives her a high five. And yes it hurts, something deep in Julie’s chest aching at the easy way they all get involved, but it hurts just as much to stand here, outside of the group, and wonder what she would add to the mix if she was with them.

“Well,” Julie finally says to Reggie, her hands tucked in the pockets of her pants. “Only one way to find out.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone wants to talk about this (or generally yell about these lovely but dumb characters) I'm also on [tumblr](https://fighttoshine.tumblr.com/) under the same name.


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